COVID-19: Middlesex-London Health Unit reports 9 new cases, 8 recoveries

Jump to: Hospitalizations – Outbreaks – Vaccinations and testing – Ontario – Elgin and Oxford – Huron and Perth – Sarnia and Lambton

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The Middlesex-London Health Unit is reporting nine new COVID-19 cases and eight recoveries, bringing the local case count to 12,608 and total recoveries to 12,327.

The number of active cases climbed by one to 55.

Two more variant cases have been flagged for a total of 3,489.

The breakdown of variant cases is as follows:

• 3,360 cases of the Alpha variant (B.1.1.7), first identified in the U.K.
• 96 cases of the Gamma (P.1) variant, first identified in Brazil
• 25 cases of the Delta (B.1.617.2) variant, first identified in India
• two cases of the Beta (B.1.351) variant, first identified in South Africa
• one case of the Kappa (B.1.617.1) variant, first identified in India
• one case of the Zeta (P.2) variant, first identified in Brazil

There are also three cases listed only as B.1.617 and one case listed as B.1.617.3.

A total of 11,409 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in London since the pandemic began, while 360 have been in Middlesex Centre and 335 in Strathroy-Caradoc.

Further information can be found on the health unit’s Summary of COVID-19 Cases in Middlesex-London page.

Hospitalizations

The London Health Sciences Centre says it is caring for 10 inpatients with COVID-19 as of Wednesday, a decrease of one from Tuesday, with fewer than five in the ICU.

Of those, no patients in acute care are from outside of the region and fewer than five in the ICU are from outside of the region. In an effort to protect the privacy of patients, LHSC only provides specific numbers when there are more than five.

Fewer than five staff members currently have COVID-19.

At St. Joseph’s Health Care London, the organization reported no current COVID-19 cases among its patients or staff.

Institutional outbreaks

The MLHU is not reporting any institutional outbreaks, however, there is an outbreak tied to indoor gatherings at Christ Embassy Church at 1472 Dundas St. in London.

As of Monday, six cases were associated with the outbreak, though medical officer of health Dr. Chris Mackie said the health unit was awaiting “a number of tests of people who were contacts.”

Anyone who attended any indoor gatherings at the church between June 20 and June 30 is asked to monitor themselves for symptoms of COVID-19 and to get tested if symptoms develop.

Vaccinations and testing

As of the end of the day on July 3, 76.7 per cent of residents age 12 and older have had at least one dose while 34.8 per cent are fully vaccinated.

More than 500,000 doses of COVID-19 have been administered in the region.

Information on second-dose re-booking eligibility and how to cancel appointments can be found on the health unit’s website.

Information on local pharmacies offering COVID-19 vaccines can be found on the province’s website.

A one-day walk-in clinic will be held at the MLHU’s offices at Citi Plaza in downtown London between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Thursday.

Those looking to test to see if they have COVID-19 can find information about locations of testing sites on the health unit’s website.

The test positivity rate in the region fell to 0.7 per cent for the week of June 20, down from 1.2 per cent for the week of June 13.

Ontario

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Ontario reported 194 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday as the province also reported no new deaths for the first time since Oct. 14, 2020.

The provincial case total now stands at 546,411 while the death toll remained at 9,224.

According to Wednesday’s report, 42 cases were recorded in Waterloo, 35 in Toronto, 26 in Peel Region, 16 in Hamilton and 11 in Grey Bruce.

All other local public health units reported fewer than 10 new cases in the provincial report.

As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, 78.6 per cent of the adult population (18+) has had at least one dose of vaccine while 49.3 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Elgin and Oxford

Southwestern Public Health reported four new cases and three more recoveries on Wednesday, bringing the total to 3,895 with 3,794 listed as resolved.

The number of virus-related deaths was unchanged at 83. At least 18 cases are currently active.

Per-municipality case counts can be found on the health unit’s dashboard.

Three people are hospitalized with COVID-19, including one person in the ICU.

Two additional variant case have been confirmed, bringing that total to 815. Of those, 752 involve the Alpha variant.

There were no active institutional outbreaks reported in the region.

The region’s test positivity rate fell to 1.2 per cent for the week of June 20, down from 1.5 per cent for the week of June 13 but still above the 0.9 per cent recorded the week of June 6.

As of Monday, SWPH says 63.5 per cent of residents age 12 and older have had at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while 30.9 per cent are fully vaccinated.

All individuals aged 12 and up are eligible to re-book their second appointment through the online booking portal or by phone at 1-800-922-0096 ext. 9, provided that second-dose appointments are booked at least 28 days after the first dose of an mRNA vaccine was administered.

The health unit is also still encouraging people to add their names to a same-day vaccination list.

Several pharmacies in the region are also continuing to offer COVID-19 vaccine.

Huron and Perth

Huron Perth Public Health reported four new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the total to 1,908.

Case counts by municipality can be found on the health unit’s dashboard.

Two more recoveries were recorded, bringing that total to 1,836.

Fifteen cases are currently active. The number of deaths and the number of variant cases were both unchanged, at 57 and 319 respectively.

One person is hospitalized with COVID-19.

There were no active institutional outbreaks reported in the region.

The region’s test positivity rate fell to 0.6 per cent for the week of June 20, down from 1.0 per cent for the week of June 13.

According to HPPH, 74 per cent of residents had received at least one dose of vaccine, while 41.5 per cent are fully vaccinated as of Wednesday.

Information on vaccine eligibility and booking an appointment can be found on HPPH’s website. Specific information on booking a second dose of vaccine can also be found on the health unit’s website.

Sarnia and Lambton

Lambton Public Health reported three new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday.

The region’s total case count stands at 3,617 with 14 active cases, 3,541 recoveries and 62 deaths.

According to Bluewater Health, three patients in their care are confirmed to have COVID-19, unchanged from Tuesday.

The region’s variant case tally is 649 as of Wednesday, an increase of one from Tuesday.

An outbreak declared June 25 at Afton Park Place, a long-term care home, continues. It involves fewer than five cases among residents and fewer than five cases among staff and caregivers.

The region’s test positivity rate climbed to 2.0 per cent for the week of June 20, up from 1.8 per cent for the week of June 13.

For the COVID-19 vaccine, residents can book and re-book using the health unit’s registration page. People can also call the vaccine call centre at 226-254-8222, however, call volume is expected to be very high.

Some pharmacies are also continuing to offer Pfizer or Moderna shots.

Lambton Public Health says 73.3 per cent of adults have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 43.6 per cent of adults are fully vaccinated.

— With files from Global News’ Gabby Rodrigues and Matthew Trevithick